Brooklyn Handball Players Fight To Fix Crumbling McCarren Courts

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — When McCarren Park's track and field reopened earlier this year after a $3-million renovation project, the neighborhood's handball players returned hoping that maybe their long-neglected courts had been updated, too.

But the four handball court areas, found on the same grounds just a feet from the brand new track, still had the same uneven lines, cracked floors and misplaced fences they'd had for decades, players said.

"We returned and low and behold, everything around us except the handball courts were renovated," said Jose Lugo, who has been playing handball for 43 years and started playing at McCarren a few years ago. "We feel slighted — they renovated the entire park and didn't give this a second look."

Lugo said that since that first day, back in February, him and the other hundred or so handball players from the neighborhood have been trying again and again to have the Parks Department fix the courts with little luck.

Most recently, Lugo got together a group of volunteers at the request of the Parks Department to repaint the courts with materials supplied by the city. But after several weekends of asking to get started without replies, he said the volunteers opted not to help out.

A representative with the Parks Department told Patch the plans to repaint the courts will take place in July.

The new paint, though, will not do much for the more significant safety concerns players said have made using the courts difficult.

Perhaps the biggest issue is that the fences, moved when the courts were separated into two areas about 15 years ago, are about 5.5 feet too close to the boundary lines inside.

All of the half dozen or so players Patch spoke with said they have at one point or another jammed their finger into the chain-link fence when going for a ball because the fences aren't the proper distance away.

"You cannot have a tournament here because of those fences," said Raul Fantauzzi, a longtime coach and player who is a member of the Handball Hall of Fame. "High school (games) or the regular park, the complaint is the same — these gates cause injuries."

(Jose Lugo)

Fantauzzi said the courts have been "terrible" for nearly all of his 30 years coaching at McCarren, but that the fence placement has by far been the biggest hindrance to gameplay.

He added that he once gathered hundreds of petition signatures to convince Council Member Stephen Levin to fix the fences, but that nothing came of it. Levin's office did not respond to a request for comment from Patch.

Players said they have also been injured from countless divots, cracks and holes in the courts' concrete floors.

Peter Sacramone, who has been playing handball at McCarren for 13 years, said he's broken his left ankle and five bones in his left foot from falling on the courts. Another friend sprained their ankle just a few weeks ago in a crack, he added.

(Anna Quinn/Patch)

The disrepair is especially a concern, players said, given the number of children that use the courts for everything from tennis, to lacrosse and even soccer games. Aside from the local high schools that use them for handball teams, young kids often use the courts when they want an enclosed spot to play.

"Any one of these kids could fall or trip over the cracks," said Barbara Wlazlo, who has been playing handball at McCarren for 15 years. "Yeah, we play handball here, but there is other stuff going on here. Anyone, not only us, can get hurt."

(Jose Lugo)

The Parks Department told Patch that the handball courts were last updated in 2001, but did not respond to more specific questions about what that upgrade included. The department also did not answer specific questions about why the courts weren't included in the track and field redesign.

Right now, there isn't enough funding to reconstruct the handball courts, the department said.

"We are always open to improving our parks and encourage community members to advocate for their parks and amenities by contacting their local community boards and elected officials," press officer Anessa Hodgson said.

Local players said their hope is that repairing the courts could mean that McCarren could become a go-to spot for the handball community. The park would be the perfect place for games given the lighted field, which unlike other areas makes nighttime games possible, but most players from other neighborhoods won't come there because of the conditions.

High school teams that have used the courts in years past didn't host their games there this season, likely because of the bad conditions, players said.

They added that their slighted feeling has only grown since the track and field revamp given that the Parks Department is set to invest $6 million in a ball field reconstruction over the next year.

"Maybe a piece of what's earmarked for over there can help with this," Lugo said. "We're trying to see how fast we can get this done."